Spinning top toy

Abstract

A spinning top toy including a body and a separate shaft portion. The body has a first hook and the shaft portion has a second hook. The body and the shaft portion are switchable between couplable and decouplable states depending on a relative rotational position. The first hook and the second hook are vertically aligned in the couplable state, and are vertically misaligned in the decouplable state. An urging unit brings an upper face of the first hook and a bottom face of the second hook into contact by an urging force of a spring in the couplable state. The body and the shaft portion enter the couplable state by turning and pushing. The body and the shaft portion engage each other by bringing the upper face of the first hook into contact with the bottom face of the second hook by the urging force of the spring.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A spinning top toy having an axis of rotation, comprising:
 a shaft portion having:
 an upper portion having a flange at the lower end of the upper portion and an outer cylindrical segment that is fixed on the flange, extends upward along the axis and has first projections in a circumference of the upper portion; 
 a lower portion with a tip thereon upon which the top toy spins; 
 an inner column that is elongated along the axis inside the outer cylindrical segment, is fixed between the upper and lower portions of the shaft portion and has second projections that extend outward perpendicularly to the axis at an upper end of the inner column; 
 a movable cylindrical segment that has an upper surface and that moves along the axis, and along an outside of the fixed inner column; and 
 a biasing member outside of the fixed inner column that applies a biasing force against the movable cylindrical segment in a first direction along the axis that is opposite to the tip, 
 
 a body, separate from the shaft portion, having an upper portion, a cylindrical lower portion and third projections extending from the cylindrical lower portion of the body inwardly and perpendicularly to the axis, 
 wherein the upper portion of the body has an arcuate slit therethrough, and 
 wherein each of the third projections has a flat upper surface that can contact a lower surface of one of the second projections of the shaft portion, 
 an adjuster ring, separate from and between the body and the shaft portion, having a central hole into which the outer cylindrical segment of the shaft portion can be inserted, depressions that can receive the first projections of the shaft portion and a fourth projection that extends upward and that can move in the arcuate slit of the body, 
 wherein the third projections are positioned on the body such that: 
 (i) the second projections of the shaft portion and the third projections of the body do not align vertically in a first state where the outer cylindrical segment of the shaft portion is inserted into the central hole of the adjuster ring, the depressions of the adjuster ring being positioned respectively above the first projections of the shaft portion, and where the fourth projection of the adjuster ring is inserted into a first end of the arcuate slit of the body; and 
 (ii) the second projections and the third projections align vertically in a second state where the depressions are positioned respectively above the first projections and where the fourth projection is inserted into a second end of the arcuate slit, 
 wherein, when the body in the first state is pushed against the biasing force of the biasing member in a second direction along the axis toward the tip to push down the movable cylindrical segment, the top toy is put into the second state where: 
 (i) the third projections of the body are lower than the second projections of the shaft portion; and 
 (ii) the depressions of the adjuster ring respectively house the first projections of the shaft portion to prevent the adjuster ring from turning relative to the shaft portion, 
 wherein, when the body in the second state is turned relative to the shaft portion and the adjuster ring until the fourth projection of the adjuster ring comes to the second end of the arcuate slit, the second projections and the third projections align vertically, and the upper surfaces of the third projections are respectively engaged with the lower surfaces of the second projections by the biasing force of the biasing member, so that the shaft portion, the adjuster ring and the body are connected to each other. 
 
     
     
       2. The spinning top toy according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the second projections are a pair of the second projections located on opposing sides of the axis, and 
 the third projections are a pair of the third projections located on opposing sides of the axis. 
 
     
     
       3. The spinning top toy according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the fourth projection is a pair of fourth projections located on opposing sides of the axis, and 
 the arcuate slit is a pair of arcuate slits located on opposing sides of the axis. 
 
     
     
       4. The spinning top toy according to  claim 2 , wherein the adjuster ring is a fly wheel. 
     
     
       5. The spinning top toy according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the fourth projection is a pair of fourth projections located on opposing sides of the axis, and 
 the arcuate slit is a pair of arcuate slits located on opposing sides of the axis. 
 
     
     
       6. The spinning top toy according to  claim 5 , wherein the adjuster ring is a fly wheel. 
     
     
       7. The spinning top toy according to  claim 1 , wherein the adjuster ring is a fly wheel.